Blockchain in Healthcare: Your Guide to Blockchain’s Role in Healthcare Equity

Healthcare information should be the most protected information. Healthcare companies have access to social security numbers, names, birth dates, and much more.

Unfortunately, the healthcare industry is the industry that suffers the most from security breaches, in terms of costs. Healthcare breaches are said to cost $380 per patient breach which is 2.5 times the global average.

So how does blockchain fit into all of this and how is it improving the healthcare industry?

Read on to learn all about blockchain in healthcare.

Faults In Our Current System

The issues in our current healthcare system continue to grow as time passes. These issues in large, are due to the way healthcare information is protected and stored.

There are tight laws and regulations on patient data to protect patients. There is no safe way to safely share this data. This is why it remains scattered across many different departments and systems.

This scattering of information is quite inefficient. It inhibits doctors and caregivers from providing the best treatments to their patients. This is especially true in situations when an individual requires care from multiple providers.

Most doctors still use outdated and inefficient systems to store their patient’s data. These systems make the scattered and untracked patient data vulnerable to security breaches. These outdated systems are one of the biggest contributors to the number of patient information breaches.

What is Blockchain?

Simply put, a blockchain works as a ledger. It tracks all transactions, activities, and exchanges throughout a network. As transactions are made, information about the transaction is recorded. Once it is recorded, it can never be changed after that.

Blockchain works within a system of computers that all regulate each other. Say one computer tries to alter information on the blockchain. The other computers in the network would reject the change. All the computers work together to keep each other in check.

It’s impossible to insert fraudulent information and data into the system. The self-regulated system prevents this from happening.

These chains are protected through encryption, the ledger, and authentication of the information.

A blockchain system could help build a more cohesive and interoperable system.

The system can help get rid of middlemen, and truly protect patient’s information. This would make it easier to work between providers.

Blockchain can piece together all the fragmented information from the different departments and systems. It would help improve the security of the information being stored and shared.

It would also help healthcare providers to provide the best possible healthcare for their patients. Having access to complete medical histories would help them diagnose and treat patients better and faster.

Shaping the Future

Blockchain is responsible for shaping the future of the healthcare industry.

Blockchain in healthcare will help providers store patient information more securely. They will also be able to provide better treatment to their patients.